Comparing the Fall of Man in Eve Speaks and Miltons Paradise Lost :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Fall of Man in Eve Speaks and Paradise Lost Over the course of time, there have been many interpretations of man's fall from grace, as   told by the Bible.   Among the literary interpretations are those of John Milton's Paradise Lost and the American poet Louis Untermeyer's "Eve Speaks."   John Milton's epic poem deals with the entire story of man's fall from grace, including background for Satan's motives.   Louis Untermeyer's "Eve Speaks" was written about Eve's thoughts, many years after she was   forced to leave Eden.   While both poems are derived from the same biblical root, they offer different interpretations of man's fall through Eve's motives, her attitude toward Adam, and her attitude toward her sin.   In Paradise Lost, Eve was tricked by Satan, who assumed the form of a serpent, into eating from the Tree of Knowledge.   Satan had whispered into her ear when she was asleep, and when he spoke to her later, he used his cunning to mislead her: He ended, and his words replete with guile Into her heart too easy entrance won. Fixed on the fruit   she gazed, which to behold Might tempt alone, and in her ears the sound Yet rung of his persuasive words, impregned With reason, to her seeming, and with truth; (Paradise Lost, 733-739).    Louis Untermeyer's interpretation of Eve's motives in "Eve Speaks", were very different in their implications.   He suggests that Eve was not tricked by Satan, but instead she made a conscious decision to eat the forbidden fruit.   Eve thought that man was created for more than living in Paradise; She was seeking for a greater world:   The thought that there was something more than joy, Beyond perfection, greater than singing peace And tranquil happiness, vexed all my hours. ("Eve Speaks" 31-34)    Eve reached these conclusions through the traits that she perceived in Adam.   He was strong and had a brain designed to "dream and mould".   According to Eve, he was designed for "fiercer things and lustier worlds".     Another glaring dissimilarity between the two poems was the in which Eve perceived Adam. Milton's Eve felt inferior to Adam; When Eve was trying to decide whether or not to share the apple with Adam,   one of her reasons for not sharing was so that she could be his equal, if not his superior.   After she gave the apple to Adam, her demeanor turned even more submissive.   This was in agreement   with the traditional 17th century view of women.   Louis Untermeyer gave Eve a more domineering position; In "Eve Speaks", Eve acts for the